NC lawmakers hear from company on virtual schools

Published: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 at 7:49 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, February 4, 2014 at 7:49 a.m.

RALEIGH, N.C. — One of the national companies vying to run a taxpayer-supported, online-only school in North Carolina is making a public pitch to state legislators.

An executive from K12 Inc. is scheduled to make a presentation to a legislative committee on Tuesday. The publicly traded company generates most of its revenue from running online public schools around the country and its lobbyists have been trying to influence North Carolina legislators for years.

A company vice president last week addressed a study group preparing recommendations for the State Board of Education on how online-only schools should operate in North Carolina. The executive admitted virtual schools that K12 runs in other states have had problems.

K12 and rival online education company Connections Academy want to open up a virtual charter school starting in 2015.

<p>RALEIGH, N.C. — One of the national companies vying to run a taxpayer-supported, online-only school in North Carolina is making a public pitch to state legislators.</p><p>An executive from K12 Inc. is scheduled to make a presentation to a legislative committee on Tuesday. The publicly traded company generates most of its revenue from running online public schools around the country and its lobbyists have been trying to influence North Carolina legislators for years.</p><p>A company vice president last week addressed a study group preparing recommendations for the State Board of Education on how online-only schools should operate in North Carolina. The executive admitted virtual schools that K12 runs in other states have had problems.</p><p>K12 and rival online education company Connections Academy want to open up a virtual charter school starting in 2015.</p>